#which can be incredibly hurtful to the people it actually does represent

[privateolives]

When media only represented lgbt people as sassy and promiscuous, everyone cried for more wholesome stories. Now that the norm is wholesome falling in love stories, people are demanding kinks again.

Girl, your enemy isn't one or the other. Your enemy is The Single Narrative and pretending that either representation is Bad is a fool's game.

Just because something is more prevalent at the moment doesn't make it inherently bad. It's perfectly good to represent that parts of the experience. We just need to recognise that we need to start diversifying our stories when one particular narrative starts becoming too prevalent, instead of declaring one thing Bad Representation and going into the exact opposite camp to show how Not That we are. If that's the only attitude we have, then we risk making this new Opposite the only new narrative.

Prevalent depictions tend to come in waves of reactions to things happening in society but also very much in relation to previous depictions. You see this not just inside LGBT narratives but also in media representation of racial stereotypes, focus on masculine and feminen tendencies in fashion history, etc.

Lately though, I've been seeing posts getting more and more hostile towards the Previous Representation as if it's that experience's fault for existing - such as lgbt people who "pass straight" vs "incredibly queercoded", narratives of people who want to heal troubled family relations and a general tendency for creative work (especially in writing prompts) to just take one trope and inverting it, then calling that the peak of creativity, even when there's not necesarrily any bottomline thought to what this new story is trying to say beyond "being the opposite".

That's not to say any one person who wants to try turning tropes on their heads are inherently Problematic or anything of the sort, but it's worth examining if one representation makes that representation inherently problematic, or just in need of more diversity.

More diversity than just pointing at the opposite camp and making that the new norm until we're all sick to death of that one. Lest we just repeat the same cycle without creating actual diverse representation; Or even worse, start creating the idea that the beautiful, multi-faceted experience that is the LGBT community as a whole just falls into new binaries of experiences than just sex and preference.

[beenbaanbuun]

ateez as sharks pt.2

too many sharks to choose from, to few members to assign them to. oh well! guess it just means i get to make a part two 👀

park seonghwa - epaulette shark

epaulette sharks are STUNNING!!! they are the epitome of sleek and genderless in shark form and i know seonghwa would adore them

epaulette sharks are incredibly unique (they can walk on land!!) and use that to their survival advantage. obviously seonghwa doesn’t use his beautiful uniqueness for survival, but it makes him stand out so beautifully just like the epaulette shark

kim hongjoong - portjackson shark

another cunty little shark for our cunty little guy. these guys are so gorgeous and cool and honestly remind me of hongjoong more than i care to admit

they’re known for being rather small, most of them not even growing to be one metre, and while they’re not particularly ferocious, they do have a generous spine protruding from their secondary dorsal fin. it’s like how hongjoong doesn’t look necessarily intimidating at first glance, but get him on stage and holy moly…

jeong yunho - bonnethead shark

i cant stop assigning silly looking sharks to jeong yunho and i will NOT apologise for that!! mr silly himself deserves to be represented by an animal just as silly as he is!!

they’re known to be pretty social sharks, often swimming in groups rather than by themselves. they’re not selfish or individualistic like a lot of other shark species and i think that represents yunho perfectly. he loves his team to death and you can clearly see that

kang yeosang - leopard shark

another cute little guy that i think represents yeosang so perfectly. whilst not as silly looking or as colourful as zebra sharks, they’re still sweet little guys with not a single bad bone in their body (well… cartilage i suppose)

they’re actually seen to display little to no fear of humans and are often viewed as being docile in nature. this doesn’t apply to their prey though since they’re pretty good hunters! it just reminds me of how yeosang is also seen as being ‘docile’ but behind it all there is an amazingly talented performer who isn’t afraid to be a little aggressive on stage when he needs to be

choi san - basking shark

now personally i hate basking sharks (which does NOT reflect on my views of choi san, i love that man so much!!) but i do have to say they’re the perfect choice for san…

they’re another species of shark that are viewed as being ‘gentle giants’, growing up to 8 metres in length yet only being filter feeders. i personally am afraid of them because of how scary they look despite just being big slow guys living their life peacefully; a sentiment i see reflected with san a lot (despite the fact that i don’t know how anyone can be scared of that big ball of fluff)

song mingi - hammerhead shark

listen guys, in the same way that saw sharks are just silly little men that are absolutely adorable, hammerhead sharks are also just fucked up little guys that most people agree are very sweet

these guys are literally physically incapable of hurting people, partly because of their sweet nature but also partly because of their tiny mouths. now i’m not saying mingi has a small mouth because that would be a lie, but i am saying that i don’t think that man could every intentionally hurt someone without feeling terrible for 4-5 business days

jung wooyoung - lemon shark

THIS IS THE COMPARISON IM MOST ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT GUYS!!! lemon sharks are so sweet and also very pretty (just like wooyoung)

due to their large brains, lemon sharks are incredibly social animals and often crave the attention of divers, swimming up to them and letting the divers touch and interact with them. they’re also known to express negative emotions (similar to jealousy) when divers are giving other sharks more attention. i just think with how sociable and sweet wooyoung is, this is the perfect shark

choi jongho - blue shark

am i sorry for continuing to give jongho the sharks that look like they’ve never had a thought in their life? absolutely not! he has those big beautiful boba eyes, he has to face the consequences

these little guys are incredibly versatile. they’ll live almost anywhere in temperate or tropical water, they’ll eat pretty much anything (even krill, despite them not being filter feeders), and whilst not necessarily being dangerous to people, have been known to take a nibble every now and then. maybe it’s just me but whenever i think versatile i think of jongho, and this shark looking a little silly just makes it even better

[galactic-rhea]

It's ranting hours sunday for me: Y' know, I think when people complain soooo much about Padmé getting with Anakin, they're failing to see a lot of things. BUT ESPECIALLY...That it was her choice, and if speaks a lot of her character and personality.

She was already done dirty by the movies by getting so many deleted scenes, but then if you try to take away the agency she had on marrying a human disaster or her choices, like her forgiveness/understanding, it's actually undermining and flattening her character.

The fact is that she's actually very similar to Anakin, she's stubborn, deeply traumatized, compromises a lot for the sake of others and loves beyond reasoning. We, the audience, know that Anakin will become Darth Vader and one of the most iconic villains of history; so everything he does can be seem as a red flag that really isn't there.

From Padmé's POV, Anakin has done terrible things, but it's capable of incredible acts of love and compassion. They're in circumstances that aren't normal at all, she was queen at 14, and he was born a slave and joined the space wizard monks and his normal is kill or be killed. Our modern and omniscient POV can't be applied onto them because there's no point of comparison in this sci-fi-shakespearen tragedy-soap-opera-fantasy.

Besides...she was actually right in the end, and I don't believe is "feminist" or progressive to take away a big part of her core personality, that actually had repercussions in the whole story, and make her out to be either unaware and naive of marrying a monster, or (the worst one, imo) being jedi-mind-tricked-brainwashed-abused by her husband.

The "right, correct, girlboss and queen" actitude does more damage than help, leave Padmé to be a person. A person who wanted to have a fairytale romance with some guy who would fight for her and makes her laugh.

Also, the hell why you wanna blame her for something Anakin does, come on. That's a whole other can of worms, though. My point is, that trying to avoid or re-work-or re-contextualize the fact that she chose Anakin despite him literally telling her about murdering a whole village, is actually changing a big chunk of her personality traits.

She was a child queen, then a politician at the edge of an inminent war, manipulated by the same guy that groomed Anakin into a massive murderer, saw her people being taken into camps, had assasination attempts weekly and had to rip off of her individualism by becoming a public figure, giving up her sense of being a person by having several almost identical decoys, she had to stop being just Padmé to be Queen and then Senator Amidala and she did all of that showing little to no emotion.

Then Anakin does all what she herself had to rip off of her in order to be a politician: Honest, passionate, and able to show emotions; like love or anger.

She has morals and she represents democracy and justice, in a way. But I fully believe that inside her she had the same passionate anger and love capable of burning the galaxy that we know Anakin had, which makes them different sides of the same coin, and I think she realized that. Anakin perhaps didn't , as he never stopped of seeing himself as a slave and therefore inferior, whereas he held Padmé very highly, but I think Padmé saw them both as equals. She didn't have a "I can fix him" mentality, she had a "We're the same, we're both lonely, confused, hurting and scared of losing everything. And if he's like me, then I know he can do the right thing for love."

In other words: She was as insane as her husband, she only seems normal because she wasn't put into the monk warrior order and groomed by the devil for over a decade. (And I don't mean insane as, 'she's crazy for loving a murderer' harley quinn style, I just meant it on a daring, hopeless romantic and tenacious way)

[mdzs-fanon-exposed]

MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 10/?

Wei Wuxian was called the Yiling Patriarch during the Sunshot Campaign

Rating: FANON – CONFLICTING

There is, understandably, a bit of confusion about when Wei Wuxian started to be known as the Yiling Patriarch. For convenience's sake, he's often called by this title throughout many fanwork depictions of the Sunshot Campaign, and/or the period in which he was coreless. This makes sense from an aesthetics perspective, as during this point in his life he was already adopting the persona associated with the Patriarch brand, but in canon, the title was only given to him after he liberated the Wen prisoners.

Put simply, it's not possible for Wei Wuxian to have been called the Yiling Patriarch during the Sunshot Campaign, because by definition the title must have been given to him once he was based out of Yiling – after he liberated the labor camps and set the Wen settlement up in the Burial Mounds. Although Wei Wuxian had been thrown into the Burial Mounds by Wen Chao, ostensibly drawing that connection before the Sunshot Campaign, nobody else (besides some of the Wens) knew at the time.

However, the title was not given to Wei Wuxian immediately after settling in the Burial Mounds. We can actually pinpoint the exact turning point when Wei Wuxian "became" the Yiling Patriarch:

After Wei Wuxian defected from the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng and became the Yiling Patriarch, he’d been in significant conflict with the Lan Clan of Gusu, especially in the months prior to his death. (Seven Seas Ch. 4)

Wei Wuxian was only known as the Yiling Patriarch after his split with Jiang Cheng and the Yumeng Jiang Sect. This means there was a period of time in between the formation of the Wen Settlement and Wei Wuxian's defection, in which Wei Wuxian was living in the Burial Mounds but was NOT yet publicly known as the "big bad evil cultivator" Yiling Patriarch.

We also know the first time the words "Yiling Patriarch" are mentioned chronologically:

None of the fierce corpses Wei Wuxian had ordered to patrol the foot of the mountain actively attacked anyone—the most they did was hurl them away with teeth bared in a snarl. No one was ever hurt. And so, more and more people crowded at the foot of the Burial Mounds. Wei Wuxian once saw a long pennant in the distance, emblazoned with the title “The Supreme Evil Yiling Patriarch,” and spat out an entire mouthful of fruit wine at the sight. (Seven Seas Ch. 17)

This implies that the title of "Yiling Patriarch" was formulated not by anyone in the cultivation world who saw Wei Wuxian as a threat, but by the common people who idolized him. The title could have then spread to members of cultivation sects, who adopted the common name.

In fact, the next time we see a reference to the title is when the Jiang siblings secretly meet with Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning, and Jiang Cheng uses it to tease Wei Wuxian:

“Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng were still standing inside the courtyard. Jiang Cheng raised his bowl. “To the Yiling Patriarch.” “Hearing the title reminded Wei Wuxian of that long pennant fluttering shamelessly in the wind, and his mind was filled with its huge dazzling words: “The Supreme Evil Yiling Patriarch.” “Shut up!” he said.” ... He finished the rest of his soup in a single mouthful and stood. “Impressive. Amazing. As expected of the Yiling Patriarch.” Wei Wuxian spat out a piece of bone. “Are you done?” (Seven Seas Ch. 17)

Meaning while the title spread incredibly fast, it was not taken seriously (by Wei Wuxian, at least) for at least a short period of time while the rumors surrounding Wei Wuxian were building up. Notably, Wei Wuxian does not associate himself with the title.

My interpretation of why this happened is that during the period that Wei Wuxian was still part of the Jiang Clan, his actions were seen as representative of – or at least the responsibility of – the Jiangs. Regardless of whether the cultivation world knew he was working alone, as it were, he was still beholden to a sect who had power over him. Wei Wuxian would not have been seen as a "patriarch" in his own right.

After the defection, however, Wei Wuxian was an unknown in terms of affiliation, and thus a potential threat. With the rumors about him already beginning to paint him as evil and unstable, combined with the fact that he was going on public night hunts with Wen Ning, he quickly became notorious:

After stealing the show at several Night Hunts, quite a few people came knocking, drawn by admiration of his reputation and in hopes of joining the “Grandmaster” to become disciples under his banner. (Seven Seas Ch. 17)

Thus, the title of "Yiling Patriarch" would have only been popularized once it was assumed that Wei Wuxian wanted to start his own sect. This would have only exacerbated the hypothetical threat that Wei Wuxian was to the cultivation world as well, and contributed to his mythologizing as a quintessential sort of boogieman. This is actually an excellent example of a major theme in MDZS, of how quickly rumors can cause severe harm.

In the end, regardless of how or by whom the title was created, Wei Wuxian was only (unwillingly) given the title of Yiling Patriarch after he defected from the Jiangs.

[hoyotournament]

FINALS!!! Furina vs Kiana Kaslana

(Propaganda under the cut)

Furina:

the girl who saved fontaine. condemned herself to a life of silent pain and suffering without any warning or preparation. she could confide in no one, seek out help from no one, all while bearing the weight of her entire nation on her shoulders. not only did her willpower save everyone in fontaine, but after the prophecy was averted, she was finally allowed to live a normal life.

Kiana Kaslana:

TLDR: she's kiana kaslana what do you MEAN!!!! kiana is a beautifully written character who fully encapsulates what hi3 is about and she's so full of love and guilt and (most importantly) hope. she's a clone who struggles with her own identity/inhumanity and traumas extending from when she was a young child and her guilt but is so so resilient and so so so so compassionate which ultimately reinforces her humanity :)

kiana's character IS the honkai impact thesis statement. i don't even mean it as in she's the literal main character and face of honkai i genuinely mean it when i say she just IS honkai impact. she reflects every single theme that they portray [hope over nihilism (chapter 25 || the flame chasers and just. the previous era in general), having agency over your identity and your own story (himeko, her being k423 and being so linked to sirin, everlasting flames || the kaslana household name honestly, bronya, fu hua, mei, sirin), believing in the humanity's inherent worth (chapter 25, arc city || elysia <- important since as a current era herrscher, she is a successor to elysia AND as kiana kaslana, she is a narrative parallel of elysia), having faith in the youth (himeko, kevin || the other flame chasers! notably su), etc.] her character being so reflective is also sooooo OUGH to think about when you view it as a reflection of honkai's 50,000 year samsara because kiana is a representation of these themes coming full circle (especially since many of these stretch back to the previous era and elysia).

SHE FEELS SO MUCH. she's so full of love and guilt. she clearly prioritizes others over herself and part of her arc is her learning to value and love herself as well!!! she would give herself for the world ten times over because she holds so much affection for humanity!! (WHILE FEELING DEHUMANIZED BECAUSE OF HER IDENTITY AS BOTH A HERRSCHER AND K423) and it's actively apart of her character's growth :'')

dear god her growth… okok. so i think first you have to understand that a lot of kiana's growth obviously coincides w general maturity as she grows from a teenager to a young adult. but aside from that i think people often forget that younger kiana is incredibly self sufficient since her father literally left her with little to no explanation when she was like. what 8? the insecurity she feels at that! the anger she has to navigate while also balancing it with her own feelings of missing and loving him. basically: kiana has struggled a lot w instability and is thus kinda good at navigating it. ex: she isnt shaken by nagazora and literally tries again and again and again to save mei and convince mei to let her help. the thing is this fucks w her a bit though because a big thing that she does as a means to cope w instability is avoiding them (not reflective of real life of course, but in the fictional hi3 this is partially represented in kiana's repressed memories about her actual origins as k423). she can not stand the realization that she killed himeko that she's so deep in denial and doesnt truly realize it until more than 10 chapters after himeko dies! she's so horrified with her being a herrscher she actively tries to not use her powers out of fear, even when it puts her in harms way (the chapter XI-EX CG!!!!!! her literally trying to kill herself!!) she literally runs away from her friends and loved ones because she's so scared of hurting them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! which is why her promise to himeko to not run away is so important!! because it addresses one of kiana's biggest flaws!!!!! this is especially important bc her refusal to continue her avoidance feeds into her arc during the herrscher of dominion chapters where she both faces her own guilt/identity and deliberately chooses perseverance and hope over nihilism!! she is hope!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

It’s one in the morning let’s talk Six of Crows analysis - it feels like it’s been ages since I did any analysis, which is like the entire point of this account so sorry about that but here we go: We should talk more about Adem Bajan you guys okay because first of all he effectively comes to represent the vast majority of everyday people in a clear juxtaposition to both Inej and Van Eck, but he also is in a position of far less choice than I think we give him credit for.

As a reminder, Bajan is a young Suli boy (presumably somewhere around 19 but we have no confirmation of that) working in the Van Eck household teaching Alys music. He is highly implied to be having or to have interest in having as affair with Alys, and was Van Eck’s chosen jailer for Inej at the beginning of Crooked Kingdom. Van Eck claims he made this choice because he thought “a Suli boy would be most conspicuous” when he was attempting to lure Kaz into a trap to save Inej, but it was also an inarguably smart decision in that, as Inej even comments herself, Bajan was easy to talk to, made her feel nostalgic, homesick, and alone, and very nearly succeeded in drawing information out of her without having to restore to torture. If anything, resorting to torture was Van Eck’s major mistake at this point but that’s really a conversation for another time. Bajan is a really interesting character because he doesn’t want to hurt Inej and specifically encourages her to tell him things so Van Eck won’t escalate things further, but when Van Eck does escalate things Bajan is unable - or possibly unwilling - to stop him. For this Inej calls him a monster, and when he claims he did nothing replies “no, you’re the man who stands idly by congratulating himself whilst the monster eats its fill”. She draws a Suli phrase on him that effectively means he’ll be rejected by the community forever and his spirit/soul won’t be accepted, and she describes it as the worst fate or something along those lines sorry I can’t remember exactly. But what’s the most interesting thing is that even though he claims not to believe in any of it Bajan gets noticeably upset by this and says “that’s not fair”. Inej is surprised that he’s this soft, and there’s a very clear juxtaposition between the lives they have lived.

BUT - let’s look at this from Bajan’s perspective. And remember - this is important - Bajan is not described as an employee of Van Eck’s, but an indenture. An indenture. So Bajan is a young boy indentured in a foreign country to a man as high up in the country’s government as you can get and who has clearly been illustrated to the reader as a terrible person on several different levels that I won’t dissect in too much detail right now. He appears to have acclimatised himself to Kerch surroundings and acts with elevation above his status, because that’s what he has to do to survive in the upper echelon of a deeply classist society that actively diminishes and disapproves of his culture. (<<if anyone wants references for that let me know and also I’ve written about it quite a bit before so that’s kicking around on my page somewhere) He refuses to speak to Inej in Suli because “it makes me maudlin” and my question to you is: is he rejecting the language to further attempt to fit in and as a product of internalised prejudice, or because it’s so incredibly painful to be half-connected to a culture not only that he has forced himself to reject but also that he feels he can never safely return to? Probably both. He tells Inej he doesn’t believe in Suli superstition, religion, or culture, and yet is deeply upset when she uses it against him. Is this because he actually does believe, or wants to believe, in the Saints and the Suli interpretation of them but has rejected them for survival and the supposed betterment of himself? Possibly.

Bajan strikes me as very similar to Jesper in the way he presents himself as free, flirty, and casual, but had a considerable weight to almost everything he says and considerable pain hidden closer to the surface than he may have realised. I think there are parallels between him and Inej if we want to see them, but also a very stark difference in the way Kerch and Ketterdam have treated them. Bajan may not be privileged but even as an indenture he has - or at least as far as we know has had - a far safer and kinder experience than Inej has. This could be related to gender since the hyper-sexualisation of Suli culture is mostly centred on women - “the Menagerie always stocked a Suli girl” (I’ve intensely analysis this quote before so I won’t now but ugh there’s so much to say) - but we do know there are young boys captive at the pleasure houses as well although less commonly and it’s also possible that this difference is linked to Bajan’s decision to turn his back on Suli culture in order to appeal more to Kerch society whilst Inej continually embraced her culture and arguably became more religious in response to her experiences.

This is complicated because I’m not entirely sure how I feel about Bajan. I understand and support Inej’s perspective and everything she saw whilst in a far more dangerous position that he was, but is it possible that this was a lonely boy who saw someone he thought was like him and tried to communicate with her the only way he thought was safe? You are completely isolated in a foreign culture and hate yourself for having suppressed your own upbringing in order to survive, but now you meet someone else who yes, is in more danger than you, but who you might be able to help so that she can help you in return. You aren’t safe to speak freely and so you subtly tell her that you are an indenture, hoping she acknowledges that none of this is of your free will and because you know that she was indentured too (and remember from a societal pov there is very little understanding of what indentured girls at the pleasure houses actually go through and although that doesn’t excuse ignoring Inej’s trauma it may explain why he doesn’t fully acknowledge that their positions aren’t equal), you tell her that speaking your own shared language makes you feel maudlin, hoping she realises that you desperately miss your homeland and using your language makes you feel even further from your family than you already are because you can’t share it with them. She doesn’t seem to be taking any of it in, your employer has every intention of hurting her and you don’t know what else to do, so you make a last plea: you ask her about home. You think you’ve already made it clear that speaking about home is painful, so you ask her about it to invite that pain, to share it, so you both understand. But it fails, because she only sees your employer puppeteering you. You openly beg her to tell him the truth so that he won’t hurt her but she refuses to comply, and after all of your efforts and your desperate attempts to connect and beg her to help you both go home, her response is to turn your home against you and banish you from it for eternity. So when you see her the next morning, how could you possibly look her in the eye?

Bajan did not make all of the right choices in his brief time on the page. He didn’t. But maybe he was trying really hard, and he had no other options left.

Anyway I’m not saying this is definitive one way or the other it’s just an interpretation but I find him a very interesting and very sad character and I although I support all of Inej’s actions in these scenes from her point of view I do find myself wondering how she appeared to Bajan and how he felt in the aftermath.

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

Which of the Gotham rogues do you think would be into marking their partner? Which ones do you think are more into PDA and showing off their partner, and which ones are more private?

Would love to hear your HCs for all of them ❤️.

"Showing off" Rogues Party

OH HELLO? MARKING AND PDA HM? Sorry this took so long, but better late than never!

TW: NSFW, marking, degradation, somnophilia, biting, knife play, needle play, collars, spanking

Riddler

Somewhere mid- on the scale of marking. He enjoys it, but it's not a necessary kink for him. In the case of his partner being into marking and encouraging him, he would get into a lot of theatrics for it. Talking sweet and dirty to you as he leaves an imprint of his teeth. Taking a green sharpie and writing a question mark on your hip because he thinks he's cute.

One thing that would get him going is seeing the imprint of ropes or ties on you. Nothing that cuts into you deeply, but seeing those marks after a session of tying you up... the intricacies of patterns pressed into your skin, even if it's brief. He wants to drag his lips across it.

He's obnoxiously into PDA. Despite the fact that he doesn't like touching by anyone else, he's terrible about it when it comes to you- Unless you ask otherwise. Taking a moment just to kiss you, not caring who sees. Hanging off of you when you're talking to someone else. See, everyone who thought he was too annoying and made up his partner, here they are! In the flesh! He's making sure everyone knows you're dating. And that anyone who tries to get at him through you will encounter a fate worse than death :)

Penguin

Oswald likes biting- HOWEVER, it's a ton of light grazing because his teeth are actually sharp and he doesn't want to hurt you. Plus, he likes your skin as it is. Light scars but nothing that will stay longer than a couple weeks. He will dirty talk it up though in the heat of the moment.

He'll pick out your outfits and things that have an obvious insignia or "Cobblepot colors" of white, black and purple. Garter stockings/thigh harness with jewelry he bought you that people can only see when you flash your leg a certain way. If nothing else, he'd ice you out with a choker if that's more your thing. He would also pay for a tattoo- nothing crazy, but a symbol on your thigh or hip that's meant to represent him.

Showing off his partner is part of the deal. He's an incredibly public figure and he doesn't intend on hiding the fact that someone really cares about him. That and the fact that you fuck. His hands linger over your ass or thighs in a way that tells everyone else you're taken, which is a form of marking on it's own. He also likes public sex or at minimum public messing around, even if he would make sure to cover you up if you were ever caught.

Mad Hatter

IRONICALLY, for him being as kinky as he is, he wouldn't like marking with his teeth or hands. Into marking in the sense of clothing. Matching decor- themes. You two walk into a room and it's obvious you are Together. If he ever did mark your skin in a lasting way, he'd be the first one to kiss it. Terribly sorry, dear, he couldn't help it. You're far too lovely for him to resist. It would turn into a praise session for how beautiful you are.

The ONLY exception to not liking to leave marks is with somnophilia and even then, he'd ask you first if it was okay/part of the play for you. Him being so cautious to not even wake you up, using your body to his whims and the only sign when you wake up is a pleasant soreness and little marks on your hips or thighs.

Yes and no. He wants people to know the two of you are together but he does have a sense of being chaste in public. If you initiate, he'll gladly reciprocate the affection you give him. The clothing mentioned would likely be enough to clue people in, anyways. If someone made him jealous or got too close to you, however, he'd suddenly get a lot touchier and in your space. He likes the idea or perception of him being a gentleman despite his dabbling in psychedelics and mind control.

Scarecrow

The psychological effects of marking alone makes it a fascinating thing for Jonathan. I've mentioned it before, but sex to him is yet another avenue to analyze you and your mind through behavior. What satisfaction does it give you to be "owned" by him? To have other people see that you're "his" by the marks he leaves upon your skin? It's a very fun thing for him to sink his teeth into, metaphorically and literally.

Usually his idea of marking is using his nails on your skin, leaving scratches that bloom in light inflammation after the moment is gone. Lines he can run his fingers over in the following days. It doesn't show to anyone besides him really, but he's also fond of spanking. Leaving little marks by his hands or a tool that you'd have to wiggle in front of a mirror or get a photo of to see.

Not big on PDA. This is a man who grew up having to hide a lot of facets about himself so he wouldn't be a target to bad things. Then it was the second persona of the Scarecrow. He's very private in the day to day outside of certain people. You'd find he's much more likely to kiss you in front of fellow rogues, for example. He would get you something small as a gesture to show off your "engagement" i.e. relationship to him, however, a small ring, necklace or a bracelet sort of thing.

Music Meister

He would feel bad. He sees that he gave you a bruise on your thigh when he grabbed you in bed and he's apologizing when he sees it. He has an incredibly soft and romanticized idea of sex so he doesn't try to get rough in the first place. You'd have to ease him into it and make it a sort of scenario. He'd be careful still, but you might get something out of it. Reassure him it's alright and that you like it.

A type of marking he would do, though, without much prompting, is physical marker writing. Ticking off the amount of times he's made you moan on your thighs. A little note here or there for you to find later. A song lyric because he has ADHD and got distracted- well. You shouldn't be shocked.

PDA and showing off, though? He's making an entire musical number to announce your arrival. Clarence is having you in dance routines for his heists. Everyone is going to know that you are together. If you were looking for privacy, you should not have gone for the theater kid. Lots of public kissing, hand holding and his arm around your body.

Victor Zsasz

ooooooo fucking boy.

#1 the guy you would look at for marking. If you can handle the fact that he's a freak and not really a nice guy, he'll mark you every which way you can imagine. Literal markers, his hands, his nails, his teeth, needles, knives, actually carving his initials into you- If you're game, he'll do it. Make you bleed while making sure you're not passing out on him or getting too injured. He'd "mark" his gun or knife handle by fucking you with it so he's always got "you" around when he's working.

Would write "cum dump" on your abdomen with drawn hearts if you're into that. He'll even take pictures of you like that, bound and gagged and stuffed with his cum for a spank bank later. If you've ever seen the intricate "needle art" some people will do (with sterile equipment), he would. If you don't at least have a couple bruises after going with him, he doesn't think he's properly fucked you.

He's... disgusting, really. He'll spit in your mouth in public to show off how good you are for him if you'd allow it. Collar and a leash, make you pant on his leg and beg for it. In more refined, appropriate settings, he would push it by huffing about wanting a kiss. In certain crowds he'd be more private for your protection. Because in his own twisted little way, he does care.

Killer Croc

Marking is something he got into over the years because it's very difficult for him not to mark up a partner by accident. It took a while to get there emotionally/psychologically since it definitely fed into this fear of him being a monster that only hurts people. Then as the condition got worse, people generally lost interest unless they had a fetish which just... no. As he came to acceptance with his entire thing, the marking kink sort of fell into place.

Yet, he's still careful as he drags his claws up the plush of your thighs, holding you close to kiss him. It's not terribly hard for him to make someone bleed, after all. Where it might be more difficult to restrain himself funny enough, is if his partner is holding all the control and he gets REALLY in the moment. You could be ordering him around, he's with it, and he's also biting your shoulder hard enough to leave a blemish.

He doesn't dislike PDA, but he won't really initiate. There isn't a particular reason for it. It's just not really his style. He thinks it's really cute if you want to hang off his arm or kiss him around other people, though. It's very validating for him. One way or another, people are going to know the two of you are together if it's by conversation or him playfully hoisting you on his shoulder as you head home.

Harley Quinn

It's actually not a kink of hers, it's rather something that just kind of happens because she gets really enthusiastic. If anything, she winces if she sees too many bruises on you, kissing softly as a way of showing her apologies. There was a time she loved seeing those on her own body because of what they meant- Now it's a grim reminder. Side note: if you guys play spar it's a slight exception, this is related specifically to sex/romantic relationship things.

That all being said, she adores being with you and pretty much all displays of affection being with you. It's not shocking to literally anyone who ever saw her when she was with the Joker. She has a penchant for pet names and grandiose gestures of her affection. She's the one who walks up to a carnival game and the guy working there thinks they'll take her money- and she walks away with the biggest stuffed animal for you.

Sometimes you'll look over at her when you're out together and you'll notice she's just looking at you with hearts in her eyes. Holding you and being held by you in those movie theaters where you can push up the arm rests. Sharing a drink and food. Everyone in Gotham knows.

Poison Ivy

Only likes it in the sense of rough play. Similar to Harley, doesn't aim for it. Just happens. Bruises from being bound. Scratches from messing about around her plants or her perfect nails. Doesn't really use her teeth for much, however. Given how her saliva can have an effect on people even when she doesn't mean to via an oral route, she would not want to risk it getting into your bloodstream. It's a "just in case" safety precaution.

The exception to intentional marking is if it's part of dominating play and it's something her partner is seeking out. Even then, it's more about clothing to put you in a position of "hers". For example, collars, clothing with tight straps, etc etc. You want people to know you're hers, baby? Why don't you tell them yourself?

Yes and no on PDA. When someone is under her thrall, she loves big displays because it shows the power she has over them. With you, her partner, she's actually more demure. A small kiss on the cheek or the lips, pulling you close and holding your hand as you walk in the park. She has a thing for sex outside or at least in nature, but she tends to pick areas that are more secluded to prevent people from peeking in. If anyone asks, however, she'll never deny you're her person. Let there be no doubt about that.

Two-Face

Complicated. Harvey still struggles with it because in his mind, that's something horny teenagers or early 20-somethings do. It's not professional, it's could be potentially embarrassing for your partner. Sure, it's fun in the moment but- Harv is already telling him to shut up, it's hot. It's a sign of passion, of wanting someone so bad your teeth mark them because you could devour them whole! Who wouldn't be into that?!

If Harvey got into it, it would be things you can easily hide under your clothing. Hickeys and little bruises where his hands held tightly. He feels... kind of naughty doing it? It's fun, though! Harv dives full-force into it, intentionally leaving little marks where he knows it'll drive Harvey's boy scout routine crazy. They both like seeing it on your body, there's just a disagreement on admitting it.

Something they can both agree on 100%, however, is showing you off as their partner. Clothing that has a "duality" theming to it so you match with them. A hand that depending on the current controller is high on your back or dancing low just above the curve of your ass, fingers resting in the hip dip. Sometimes they like to steal kisses when you least expect it, just so others can see your reaction go from surprise to a warm smile.

Black Mask

He'd make you show other people or, at minimum, tell you to wear things that would show off exactly where he marked you up. Teeth marks, hickeys, bruises, the occasional knife play- It gets him off to watch you pull up your shirt or skirt to show off something he's done to your body. Like it's a badge of honor to have Roman Sionis leave a reminder on you of your past transgressions.

Collars. He will get you a collar for every different occasion and outfit if you want. It doesn't have to strictly be a collar, either. Just something you wear that everyone sees as his "ownership" over you. If you guys have gotten to a serious note, he wouldn't mind matching tattoos, either. Something small and subtle on your hands or wrist. After all, you're together for the rest of your natural lives, right? It's not like it's that different from a wedding ring.

He would have sex in public or at least around other people if you were down, if that answers your question. He'll kiss you, grope you, pull you into his lap whenever it pleases him. It could be egregious enough that someone might be confused that you're just a toy for gratification vs something serious. He'd knock the teeth out of anyone who said that about you around him.

Mr. Freeze

Unintentional when he marks up his partner. Yet when he kisses for a lingering amount of time... there is a frost build up. It's certainly not permanent- it's like a powder of fresh snow was left on your shoulder. Even if he was into it, per say, he would worry about intentionally trying to mark a partner with his own body. Given his condition that could lead to skin or even muscle damage!

He's certainly more private, but he's not against PDA. A lot of how he shows affection is just subtle and not about physical touch. Ensuring you're bundled up while in his work space that inevitably gets frozen over. You're eating all your meals and when you're sick you can rest.

People are going to know you're with him without "showing off" simply because it's apparent that he cares for you. For one, he actually keeps you around. Two, if anything threatened to get between you, he'd be getting suddenly very hostile...

Ra's al-Ghul

Actively against PDA and showing you off. Getting handsy and kissing a lot in public makes you a target. It paints him as someone with a very visible weak point. Marking would be something private. Only you can see it, i.e. it's under the clothing. So writing, a stray scratch or bruise- Having very apparent signs that the two of you fuck or that you "belong" to him in a sense, however, is different.

For one thing, you are either in his quarters or directly next to him. If you ever go out without him, you have a trail of spies behind you for your protection. Some might say it's like living in a gilded bird cage. To others it's a significant show of respect and intimacy that the incredibly secretive Ra's al-Ghul wants you to know him inside and out.

You will wear clothing that is befitting to your status as his partner. Golden jewelry, either an arm band or something around the neck- green like his robes for any gemstones. He'll kiss the skin as he puts these pieces on you himself. Much of this isn't marking in the "traditional" sense, but people will surely know that you are his partner.

Bane

On the fence. On one end, he doesn't want to like it because he's not the brute that people want to think he is. His entire identity is not that of a violent criminal despite what the world has made him. And yet... there is something visually pleasing about seeing a sign of where he's been along your skin. It's not dissimilar to shows of strength with you. Little bruises where you asked him to go rougher, to grab you tighter. A slight indent of his teeth on your shoulder.

Other than that, he does not like the idea of hurting you. Anything where he's intentionally marking you up is off the table. He doesn't really go for fashion. He doesn't want to write on you (it feels strangely disrespectful to him). Asking him to cause you harm (even minor and in play) is an incredible turn-off.

He likes being affectionate in public, however, he is strict on when and where. He works with dangerous people. He has a mind for strategy- you could be another pawn piece for someone if the two of you are too affectionate in the wrong crowd. Amongst his true peers or, say, your family or friends? Completely different, he's kissing your neck to make you laugh and hugging you close.

[iron-embers]

Your art on rule 34 🤡

Oh no, what a nightmare....

Not!

We all know you are the same troll that makes millions of sub accounts just to harass people as if that would work, but this is just laughable that you are trying and failing to taunt me as if this will hurt me in anyway. Congrats, you played yourself. The sheer stupidity of you committing art theft and showing your account on that degenerate site just shows how dumb you are. Did you honestly think I would be offended by you giving me evidence of your troll account which shows all your mental illness in one go. I mean, you gave me free advertisement which is a small plus but really I'm cackling at how pathetic you look doing this, thinking you have an ounce of power. As if you are to be feared just cuz you stole people’s art and twisted it.

Get out if your lil power trip, get some mental help, and maybe people will actually respect you. Cuz the only thing you're succeeding at in life is bringing people together that aren't toxic like you and they all despise the bullshit you're doing I literally could care less about your tantrums, real adults wouldn’t waste their time with a pathetic degenerate like you, but I’m responding only because you have shown yourself for the true psycho you are. I've seen all the stupid shit you have been pulling at some sad attempt for attention, I feel bad for the people that get hurt but wow, talk about you exposing yourself as the lil arrogant dumbass you are. I'm not even involved and I've seen all the racial slurs you've been throwing around, saying everyone that supports the people you don't like are white and racist, fun fact dumbass-

I'm a person of color, I'm Hispanic and as such seeing you trying to represent this is disgusting. I do not advertise my race because unlike you Race does not define my being, I do not judge people based on race, I form mutual respect with others that show me that same respect as a person. Race doesn’t mean shit when you are mental case trying to cause problems where there are none. I’ve already seen you reach out to multiple people to try and taunt them with false accusations, and the sheer fact you are racially profiling everyone based on art is even more racist in itself. I'm not even inolved in whatever drama your pulling, but you pulling the victim card just cuz you are a person of color is despicable, and you have the audacity to falsely claim I'm white is incredibly racist. Being white isn’t insulting, so what of the color of your skin. The people you insult are wonderful people we enjoy interacting with, and you are not and that has nothing to do with the color of your skin. I could be like you and be all "Oh boo hoo, are you scared of colored people, show more representation?!". But We are better than that, and left wondering what the actual hell is wrong with you. People are people no matter what race, and what you have shown is you are not deserving of being called equal if you don't have the human decency to treat others with respect. This is a place for people to enjoy their own lil piece of obsession, but you have taken it too far. One day I hope you go get the help you need, but seeing as how desperate you are for any shred of attention, you are beyond help. And as such your behavior does not deserve an ounce of attention.

People ignoring your stupidity isn't out of fear, it's the mercy they are giving you because why Grace stupidity with a response. You are pushing people to that point where they will no longer be tolerant to your Bs and I can promise you that will never get what you want. Take the hint, cut it out, and if you are just so offended by everyone here, then leave. People have better things to do in life, and you should probably put this ridiculous obsession into something more positive and productive. It makes you look an utter fool.

All of us will continue making what we love while you rot in your lil troll corner, with no courage to actually talk things out like an adult and the evil in your heart to try and fail to make everyone miserable. Imma keep laughing from your stupidity as I keep making what I love. If you wanna keep harassing, lying, and stealing art, go ahead and dig your own grave. Go ahead and give people more reasons to dislike you, I found this hilarious.

Let this be a post for those being harassed by this lil psycho or do not condone this idiocy, keep doing the amazing art and create without feeling as if twisted people have the power to ruin it. Cuz trolls don’t have any power over what you make and like, they will try but fail because they wish they had this confidence to being a respectful member of this fandom. Keep reporting them, keep blocking them, keep showing them that their degeneracy will get them nowhere. There are many of us that love and respect one another, and there is only one miserable ingrate that has nothing better to do than stir up trouble. Don’t let this troll ruin your fun just cuz they are a jealous idiot. They wanna throw around the retard insults at others, get a mirror troll, cuz this just shows how much of a retard YOU are.

[the-doctor-needs-a-river]

So, going into this tentatively because there are a lot of strong feelings going around.

People are so traumatised (and validly so) about queer/disabled character deaths from shows with horrible representation and queerbaiting that this has become almost the automatic response to the death of any queer/disabled character. In a lot of situations (cough cough spn etc.) this is absolutely the case.

HOWEVER.

What people are missing is that this doesn't apply to a show in the context where multiple characters are (respectfully) represented as disabled (Lucius, Ed, Jackie, Wee John, Prince Ricky) and nearly every single character is queer. The beauty of the intention here is that a queer/disabled character gets to just be a character. There's no tokenisation there. So when a character like this in this kind of context dies, it's just a character death.

Because of good representation, there is no malice in the death.

Add into this the fact that the death makes perfect narrative sense when viewed through the larger narrative lense of the main point of this season being Ed's emotional arc, it's actually very good story telling (can go deeper into this if requested). That's not saying that it doesn't hurt or that it doesn't feel unfair: that's what good story telling is supposed to do.

I think it's easy to, especially after the first 2 episodes of s2, try and villainise Ed, but I think that's a narrow understanding of what was going on. Yes, Ed was physically abusive to Izzy and the crew, but people overlook the fact that Izzy was emotionally abusive to Ed when he was in an incredibly vulnerable state, which was ultimately the catalyst for the events of S2ep1-2. They both did wrong and both deserved/needed to give apologies; there was no innocent party between them, a fact that Izzy acknowledges multiple times. That's why the parallel to S1ep10 ("there he is") was so beautiful and devastating because it was an understanding of wrongdoing on both parts and an acceptance that they no longer fit together.

Like Izzy said, THEY were Blackbeard, and Blackbeard needed to die for Ed to be able to move on and truly be himself - think the shift from ep 2 to 3 where Ed didn't want to die, he just didn't want to live being Blackbeard but had been convinced there wasn't any alternative. That was the overarching theme of Ed's arc and what Izzy was acknowledging in his final moments.

When you think about it this way, Izzy's death has been foreshadowed as a narrative necessity from the very beginning of the series. With this in mind, the journey that he goes on in the meantime goes above and beyond the acceptance of Ed's vulnerability that we needed to see for them to get to this point; we also see Izzy find his own vulnerability and strength within his found family and identity. THEY DIDN'T NEED TO DO THIS. They gave us this because they also love Izzy and wanted to give his character as much love as possible in the time up until his purpose as a device for Ed's character arc came.

And ultimately, this is what separates Izzy from Ed and Stede - his primary purpose has always been as a character based narrative device to challenge Ed. The fact that so many people love him in his own right is amazing but this has always been his main purpose. Of course he has intervals of brilliant character ingenuity and growth of his own, especially in this new series, but this is exactly what I'm talking about when I say we've been gifted this when we didn't need to be. Does that make the loss sting even more now that we've had it? Of course it does but that's the point. They went so above and beyond with him this series because they saw the potential in his character and Con's fantastic performances, and because they love him as much as we do. But the point still stands that he served the purpose of the character and device that he was always set out to be from the very beginning.

We know from dj that this was all very intentional and, although the analogy used can potentially be questioned, he stuck to his intended trope and executed it with dignity and beautiful parallels.

I guess I'm just saying that it makes me sad to see good writing be misinterpreted, but I completely get where the trauma response is coming from. I would hate to see us get into a situation where we lose this kind of amazing representation because writers are too scared of potential backlash to take the chance of including it when what has been interpreted wasn't narratively intended.

As always, this is written with respect, love and no ill intentions and everyone is entitled to their own thoughts ❤️

[princess-of-the-corner]

, https://www.tumblr.com/princess-of-the-corner/754856715983421440/chloe-is-the-mlb-version-of-rwbys-weiss-except?source=share

While I get the comparison it also doesn't really work.

Weiss is, like all the major characters, a subversion of the archetype she's introduced to the audience with.

IE, Weiss is the "Ice queen", cold, aloof, haughty, from a powerful family in a place that doesn't encourage emotions, with a very pale color pallet and such. Plus a bit of tsundere for a spice, who wishes to live up to the incredibly high expectations of her name an social rank.

That's the archetype. I'm sure you can pick that which is familiar trope wise out.

Weiss the actual character on the other is very different.

For one she does not give two flying shits about her cold and emotionally abusive father, she expressly went to college on another continent to get out of his influence & wants to undo the ruination his corruption brought to her idea of the Schnee family's honor. Something explicitly endorsed by her older sister.

Secondly her tsundere and cold aspects are very much a mixture of trauma responses and cultural conditioning. Both f which ease right the hell off once she's in a safe environment with people she trusts. She can still be a bit regal sounding but she's actually one of the overall gentler characters, whose irritation manifest more in a "Done with this" vibe than anger.

Thirdly she didn't really require a redemption arc, not exactly.

I have a whole essay the subject of redemption arcs elsewhere but broadly speaking one needs todo like, a notable amount wrong and go through a fairly heavy degree of change for something to be an arc.

Weiss was one of the heroes right from the start, she was just temperamental and prideful but again once in a none toxic environment was able to scale that back relatively easily. Her other notable issue was defaulting to derogatory language in regards to Faunus she expressly associated with crimes.

However, this was not something she did in regards to Faunus in general. & its also made clear from the framing that the only time during the episodes dealing with this. That we were meant to be sympathetic to her was when she tethered her anger at the White Fang (Who represent criminal Faunus in her brain cos she grew up very isolated from regular people) which can spill over into other 'rule/law breaking' Faunus is specifically rooted in how much her father fury and anger impacted her as a child.

IE, she was working around those negative feelings by pushing them onto a socially acceptable scapegoat so her father could just be like, a scummy businessman and not someone who scared or hurt her. This is especially obvious seeing as Weiss references his anger from when she was a small child, despite the fact the very next episode establishes that the White Fang had only been committing crimes/evolutionary actions for five years. Meaning the anger she saw as a child was just him being pissed off about human rights protests and taking it out on those around him.

But regardless, while rather, clumsily handled at the time, in large part cos of a show string budget and like 9 minute episodes during the first volume. She was able to resolve her main conflict with Blake and broadly chill out on the subject before the first volume wrapped up and barring some untoward language in one conversation had never done anything that'd require like, an arc, is my point,

Beyond that, om other area they are very distinct characters in is that Chloe was taught or learned from example to imitate her parents, cheating, cruel words and all.

Weiss very expressly modelled herself after her grander, even weaving bright reds into the interior of her white clothes as that color was tied to Nicholas (Yes Saint Nick) Who was comparatively extremely noble type. So she was a stickler for rules and intensely workaholic about it.

Basically, barring being rich and having shitty parents whose abuse or neglect led to them being a varying degrees of sharp with people there's not much to compare I feel.

Also the parental dynamics are very different, but that's a whole other post.

I do think Weiss's personal experience and wisdom gained across the series would make her an ideal person to easily handle Chloe at her more prickly though.

Fascinating.

[emeraldelysian]

Tomorrow X Together ✧ Love Languages

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Genre: Fluff Synopsis: What love languages do the TXT members share with their s/o Wordcount: 1.5K+ Warnings: None that I know of, but please let me know if there is anything! Note: I was listening to the song Love Letters by Ballyhoo! which I definitely recommend. It's incredibly wholesome and pure, and it gives off innocent falling-in-love energy.

♡︎ follow, provide feedback, or reblog if you enjoyed but please don't repost or translate!♡︎

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.·:*¨༺ Choi Soobin ༻¨*:·.

Primary ➵ Words of Affirmation

The compliments this boy will give you, oh boy

If you look closely, you'll see actual stars in his eyes when he's looking at you.

But don't worry, if you don't see them, he'll tell you a hundred times over how much you mean to him.

He's the type to send you cute morning messages that make you smile.

Right after you two hang out, you will immediately get a text saying, "I loved seeing you, it made my day a lot better."

At around 2 in the morning if he's not able to sleep, you'll get a text that just goes, "No pressure but I'm pretty sure I want to spend my life with you."

When he wants your attention, he'll send a quick "hey, come here so we can cuddle and laugh"

Followed by an "if you can, please and thank you"

Even if you two argue, he is incredibly mindful of the words he says and tone he uses.

He will never use your insecurities against you and will never come close to crossing a line if he knows it'll hurt you.

Words from loved ones have a huge impact, so he will show you the utmost kindness and respect no matter the situation.

Secondary ➵ Quality Time

If he doesn't have the energy to talk, he'll always just want to be around you.

When he's with you, he will try his best to give you his full, undivided attention

He loves spending time with you, whatever the activity may be.

Wants to try out every hobby and passion you have, even if he's not great at it

Instead of making a playlist for you, he will set aside at least one date to make a playlist together and listen to each other's music tastes

.·:*¨༺ Choi Yeonjun ༻¨*:·.

Primary ➵ Gift Giving

He loves spoiling you so much

You rarely ever ask him for things, but he is hyperaware of the things that you like.

He loves buying you things that you think don't look good on you but he knows it does

Of course, he'll never go outside of your comfort zone but he is determined to make you realize that you're the most beautiful person he's ever met.

Will pout if you don't wear the outfit he buys for you

Is also the type to make sure your fridge is stocked and if it isn't, you better believe he'll come into your place with bags of groceries

He also loves giving you his clothes

Finds you so cute and hot at the same time when you wear his shirts

It does not fail to make him stare for a few seconds

Will buy you both matching outfits because he finds it cute

And because he wants people to know you're his

In fact, he'll probably just buy you a custom necklace with his name on it to be sure everyone knows

Secondary ➵ Physical Touch

He absolutely loves to cuddle with you

It's basically his favorite hobby

And how could he not?? You're so cuddle-able

Will basically tackle you onto the nearest soft surface and just hold you

It is basically impossible to get him to let go so be prepared

He also really loves dancing with you, and just holding you in a dance

Whether you have dance skills or not, you both will pretend to be on a dance competition show and come up with the wildest dance moves.

Is secretly making a choreography for both of you to dance to that represents how he feels about you

.·:*¨༺ Choi Beomgyu ༻¨*:·.

Primary ➵ Quality Time

He once promised to get coffee/tea/hot chocolate every single morning with you and he has kept that promise

He will videochat you just so you two can go get your favorite drinks at the same time if he can't physically be there

Is even willing to make some in the middle of the night if the there's a big time difference between where you both are

At first it was a joke, but now it's become tradition and he takes the role very seriously.

He always laughs with you, it's like he can't stop.

Even if you're down he will find a way to spend time with you and cheer you up.

If you had planned to go out for a date and you weren't up for it, he'd rather have a stay-at-home self-care date than have it cancelled or postponed

It's really important for him to spend time with you, he feels loved when he has your attention and will make sure to give you the same attention in return

Secondary ➵ Gift Giving

If you both choose to go out though, he loves going to an arcade or fair and makes it his mission to win you something.

In fact, basically anything really cute and fluffy that he finds we now be given to you.

Your plushie collection will increase tenfold because of this man

His favorite types of gifts to give you are ones he makes though

We all know he's a hidden creative and artistic mastermind

So he loves actually making things for you or with you

One of his favorite dates is when you both tried to do a bob ross painting without stopping the video

It was the most chaotic process but afterward you both gave the paintings to one another

He still has it up in his room and is incredibly sentimental over it

.·:*¨༺ Kang Taehyun ༻¨*:·.

Primary ➵ Acts of Service

Life is hard enough as is and Taehyun makes it a goal of his to make yours easier, even if it's a little bit

He loves portraying his love by helping you out, whether that be something minuscule like cleaning the decision or something significant as family problems

He will give you a massage after a long day

You both have a very domestic relationship even if you don't live together

Like he enjoys doing chores around your house with you because it gives him a sense of what it'll be like living with you

Trust that he's thought about moving in with you more than once

Will even learn how to cook just for you honestly

He makes sure that you are well-fed and hydrated because you need to take care of yourself

Can't help but get your favorite snacks when he goes grocery shopping

He will make sure that you know he has your back whenever, even if he can't physically be there sometimes

Secondary ➵ Quality Time

This goes hand-in-hand with acts of service for him.

He loves helping you out, both because he wants you to relieve stress and because he wants to spend time with you.

Loves going on a drive with you early in the morning and then watching the sunrise with you.

Basically just starting the day with you makes the whole day better for him

Your first few dates started off classy but then you both realized it'd be much better with the restrictive formalness.

Loves going on dates with you that lets the two of you bond, especially stay-at-home dates or quiet public places.

His phone background is when you both went to an aquarium right when it opened for the day and he got a picture of you under the water tunnel looking up at the creatures

.·:*¨༺ Huening Kai ༻¨*:·.

Primary ➵ Physical Touch

Look at this cute sentimental boy

He definitely shows you most of his love through physical touch.

He especially loves to hold your hand.

It's to the point where he knows subconsciously will search for your hand just to hold it.

It also gives him great comfort and strength, because it's symbolic of you being there for him.

His shoulder is always there for you to sleep on it too, he doesn't mind at all

But please know that he will secretly be placing small kisses on your forehead.

Also he loves being on the receiving end of physical touch just as much as he loves giving it

If you initiate a hug or hold his hand, his heart melts, especially if you're shyer or aren't used to it

Also if you pet his hair, he immediately loses all tension and stress

It's like his immediate unplug from the rest of the world, even if it's for a small bit

Will also present cuddling as a date idea

That's it, just cuddling and talking

Secondary ➵ Words of Affirmation

Is so incredibly thankful for you and will let you know it

"Thank you for being there for me."

"Thank you for checking up on me all the time"

"Thank you for being in my life and staying."

Took a very long time to say "I love you" to you at first actually because he wanted to be sure

But once he said it, it was like he could not stop

So he'll basically tell you that he loves you all the time

He will also shows genuine interest in talking about your passions.

He finds it absolutely adorable if you ramble on and on about something you love and will always reassure you if you apologize for talking so much

[maikingsenseofit]

The problem with Zutara: Katara through the lens of Zuko

In this last part, we debunked the claims that a lot of the symbolism and imagery in the show represented Zvtara, when they very clearly paralleled Kataang. The next part of this meta addresses claims that Zuko and Katara knew each other and cared for each other more than their canonical partners, and I couldn’t wait to get into this. You see, on a surface level and with very cherry picked scenes, anyone can try and make that case. And I’m not going to deny the significance of their eventual beautiful friendship. However let’s analyze how much Zuko and Katara really understood each other, and if they really cared for one another or made a better fit for each other more than Mai or Aang. I’ll be referencing common Anti-Maiko/Anti-Kataang arguments here.

During the Crossroads of Destiny episode, we witness something remarkable. Two people, torn apart by a war, brought together by circumstance. And Katara does something even more amazing, for the first time she sees Zuko not as an enemy, but as a boy whose circumstances have taken a great toll on him too. He’s not just the face of the enemy. He lost his mother too. And she does something even more incredible, she offers to heal Zuko’s scar with her precious spirit water, even though he had wronged her and her friends, chased them relentlessly, almost killed them sverral times, taunted her over a precious token from her mom, you get the story. So despite having no obligations, she reaches out and takes a chance on him.

They’re eventually pulled apart. Katara later realizes that her efforts and empathy did not mean anything to Zuko, as despite it all, he still sides with his sister in an effort to gain his precious honor. Meaning, contrary to popular belief, that at this moment he did not care enough about Katara to choose her amity over his personal quest. Hell, he thought betraying his own uncle was worth it in the quest for honor. So why is this important?

Because not once when Zuko returns to the fire nation, does he express any guilt over betraying Katara personally. Not once do we see him take the second to remember the pain he inflicted upon her, which is even more poignant because she was the first person to trust him, to broach that divide across enemy lines, and to offer something so precious to her to heal him. We see Zuko agonize about betraying his uncle throughout his time, but not Katara. Sure, he was in anguish over trying to be someone he wasn’t in the fire nation, but the audience never once sees Zuko remember or mention the water tribe girl through the lens of her significant act of bravery and compassion. Even more, he only remembers their interaction in the context of how the Avatar could be alive - and how this further jeopardizes his position as Ozai’s son.

So much for thinking about the water tribe girl who put herself at risk to help you, huh Zuko. (Btw I’m not actually hating on him and nor do I think this makes him a bad character or bad fit with Mai, I’m just pointing out some glaring misconceptions about how he thinks of Katara)

And this becomes all the more evident when Katara doesn’t immediately accept him into the group. Zuko is actually bewildered by the fact that she doesn’t become friends with him as immediately as the rest of the Gaang. But the cherry on top is when Zuko has the audacity to get upset and frustrated with Katara, exclaiming

“This isn't fair. Everyone else seems to trust me now. What is it with you?”

It’s here. Plain as day and written in text. Zuko could not even remember the most pivotal aspect of the start of his relationship with Katara, the one that shippers claim has even more poignance and development than any scene from the canon ships. What Katara is so clearly hurt and impacted by, so much so that she was the only one to initially remain distrustful of Zuko when everyone else wasnt, and constantly verbalized that distrust - did not even hold the same weight to Zuko. It was a fleeting moment to him on his journey to find and redeem himself, but represented everything to Katara. And it shows on her face and in her words when she says this next:

And the cherry on top of the cherry on top of this is that when Zuko enters Sokka’s tent, he STILL can’t fathom why Katara hates him.

Zuko: Your sister, she hates me! And I don't know why! But I do care what she thinks of me.

WAIT. DIDNT Zuko JUST hear Katara when she said he betrayed the precious trust she placed in him? How his actions led to her witnessing the death (and revival) of her best friend? How he relentlessly attacked her in the cave after almost immediately forgetting her compassion? And it must be asked at this moment why Zuko cares about what Katara thinks of him. Because even At this point, he still fails to acknowledge the extent that his actions had on her.

Had Katara never taken the chance to verbalize her feelings, Zuko would have carried on with the Gaang, not being aware of or having more remorse over his personal betrayal to Katara. Would Zuko have come to this realization himself if Katara never explicitly told him? If it didn’t impede his ability to form a strong alliance with everyone in the Gaang in order to work together to take down Ozai?

And that’s when I become puzzled over statements like “Zuko cared about Katara and understood her on a way deeper level than Aang ever did.” Because what we see her is quite the opposite of that. Zuko only remembered Katara’s spirit water and how it put a wrench in his plans, but couldn’t remember Katara herself. He couldn’t couldn’t recall his betrayal of her in the cave, couldn’t understand her initial hatred even after she pointed it out, and used the opportunity to hunt her mother’s killer to redeem himself in her eyes. Something that would have never happened until the narrative called for it.

Speaking of the last part, the other common Zvtara argument I see is “Zuko understood Katara’s pain and allowed her to feel it. Aang shut it down.”

At this point it’s becoming a game of selective ignorance. Because the shippers will claim that “Aang compared something as serious as Kya’s death to the trivial temporary loss of an animal” without acknowledging the literal next thing he says, which is:

“How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?”

Which IS a fair comparison. Aang mentions the genocide of his family to empathize with Katara’s loss of her mother.

And they also pretend that Aang shut Katara down completely in order to force his values down her throat and discourage her from going on the trip, which is in blatant ignorance of when Aang says this:

“I wasn't planning to. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man. [Katara situates herself on Appa's head.] But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him.”

And Yeah, Katara chose not to forgive her mothers killer. As she should. But let’s not forget what she does at the end, which is to let her anger out and then let it go. She ultimately did not choose revenge. And Aang knows this.

Because Aang witnessed Katara cry in regret when she learned about blood bending, something Zuko never witnessed. And he knows the toll that killing a person would take on Katara, someone who is inherently compassionate and wishes to see the good in everyone. Who was willing to put aside the injustices she faced at the hands of the Fire Nation to truly help the enemy she had every right to hate, like how she helped the village as the Painted Lady and reached out to Zuko in the cave. Something else Zuko never truly grasps till much later, because why else was it so hard for him to remember her poignant compassionate act?

And lastly, when Zuko blocks Azula’s lightning strike directed at Katara. While a lot of shippers claim, as they are free to do so, that Zuko did this because of his profound and undying love for Katara and that he couldn’t fathom living in a world without her, I can’t help but think back to this post where Zuko would have done the exact same thing if it was any member of the Gaang in her position. Much less that, but do you think he would hesitate to throw himself in front of Azula if it was Mai in Katara’s position?

Because it doesn’t matter who it was. As part of Zuko’s final act of redemption, he realizes that true honor comes from doing the right thing, not for personal validation. The reason for Katara’s presence isn’t romantic - but it exists narratively because this is the same girl he betrayed to join his sister in order to validate himself in his father’s eyes. Emphasis on HIMSELF. But after this entire journey, it doesn’t matter whether Zuko lives or dies. Because at this moment, Zuko realizes that saving the world and doing the right thing is worth more than a trivial Pat on the back from his father. There is a lot of poignance from the authors choosing Katara to be there, instead of Toph or even Momo. But to say that this act is because Zuko had this undying romantic love for Katara that was never fully realized is undermining his whole arc.

As I’m writing this I realize that my qualm isn’t about people shipping Zvtara in the first place. I too have such ships. But it’s the fact that people who ship them use this a tool to further the agenda that Zuko never loved and cared about Mai as much as he did Katara or Katara with Aang . I remember reading this post from a blog called the crooked pen when I initially joined the fandom, who attempted to upholster Zvtara through this argument:

Now literally replace that second sentence with Katara. Not once does Zuko mention Katara after Ba Sing Se during the time he was at the fire nation. He only remembers their interaction as an obstacle preventing him from reaching his goal. He obsesses over his betrayal of Iroh for a great deal, however. And This is after Katara willingly put herself at risk, knowing the consequences, by extending the olive branch and almost giving him her spirit water to heal. And people want to convince me that he had this unfulfilled, undying love for Katara that he never had for Mai, despite him taking the extra precautions to protect her physically through a letter, even if it meant hurting her and himself emotionally, and literally giving us the biggest smile we had ever seen from him when he mentioned her?

Which makes this second part even more frivolous because there’s a reason why he cares about the opinion of water tribe girl, and it’s not because he’s deeply and irrevocably in love with her and has much more to do with it being the last piece of the puzzle of a strong alliance, built on trust, to take down evil, once and for all.

Also please refer to @thethiefandtheairbender’s post about him “forgetting” her in prison, when in reality she was freed before everyone formally was at his coronation.

Anyways, this is one of the reasons why I personally never saw the potential in what people claim to be infinitely better than the original canon ships. The next part is Zuko through the lens of Katara. Let me know your thoughts!

[poisonedfate]

since you rewatched it i’m so curious: what is something about the reveal in canon that you want to give the writers/actors their dues? like the lines being sad, what’s happening or how lines are said. idk if i’m wording this right

such a good question, thank you! i touched on this a little in the previous ask, but there's honestly so much that i did genuinely appreciate in the episode. i had only previously seen clips and bits, but watching it all together was a whole different experience. there's a lot of negativity that i could bring up, however, to me at least, most of it concerns larger canonical tones and less so the moments of the actual episode.

firstly, the acting was, of course, incredible. both bradley and colin are phenomenal and that's nothing new, but such an emotional episode? can't give them enough praise. all the lines were delivered with such force and their expressions - from arthur's entire facial journey during the initial reveal to merlin's detailed reactions to every single thing arthur said from there on out…don't even get me started. i could go on, but the work they put in is (thankfully) often recognised.

i want to talk more about the writing and the actual pacing of the reveal. i've seen certain moments be highlighted as good and certain points get raised as "missing" or "lacking" and whilst i, too, wish some things would've been different, the overall feeling of it wasn't as…lacklustre as i thought it would be.

first, i want to address the idea itself - yes, i would've liked to see more of merlin and arthur post reveal, however, a tragedy is a tragedy. as much i would've loved to see them reference more moments or discuss other instances of merlin using magic it wasn't necessarily possible within the storyline - arthur dying and all. i think they did as much as they could without oversaturating it with memories or placing all of merlin's powers on display. although reminiscing, especially in the last episode, could be considered worthwhile they had an arc to finish. as i've mentioned, i did really like the different moments representing merlin's powers without retelling things that had already happened (apart from the callback to ep1, which i think was a nice touch and the correct memory to bring up) - instead of telling arthur about all the bad guys he's fought and dealt with, arthur could see him do it through dragoon and later through himself. beyond that, instead of a longer monologue justifying his actions, merlin shows his power by creating a harmless dragon out of the flames of a fire - a recall, but not a retelling of similar things he's done throughout the show, things that symbolise the pureness of magic. arthur has limited time and he's also being hit with 10 things at once - he's not stupid, he can make those connections, maybe not all of them due to his state of being, but a good amount, i'm sure.

i also appreciate the entire journey arthur went through. i like that they didn't shy away from the hurt he felt from merlin's reveal. it's clear by this point in the story that arthur doesn't necessarily condemn all magic users, but he is deeply hurt by broken trust, betrayals and lies. i appreciate how, despite it all, he fought merlin's words, up until merlin was forced to show him. it highlighted the severity of his trust in merlin, how solid he was in it. he's hurt and he says "i want him gone" and yet the suggestion he gives gaius is to send him back to camelot. he's aware gaius knows and perhaps he wonders who else does, but i'm certain he knows it can't be a lot of people. and yet. there are conversations later on, arthur saying "i should've (killed you)" (which is a whole different beast to address; a line that can be taken in many different ways), there's the line "i don't know what i would've done" when talking about merlin revealing his secret earlier, but at that moment with giaus, "gone" doesn't mean banished or exiled or whatnot, it means out of sight. so many implications - i will refrain from unpacking it here as it is not exactly relevant.

another thing i really valued was the dynamic change - the way it was discussed and learnt anew. it is the clearest idea you get of merlin's view of devotion and his place in the world. he's talked about it before, but not in the face of arthur knowing. more importantly, however, it is arthur wrapping his head around the detailing of their relationship, the two sides of merlin that have become one - one that's not all that strayed from what he already knew and yet still filled with surprises.

i could talk about these scenes for days on end and it still wouldn't be enough. they packed in so much in such little time. i also want to talk briefly about gwen and gwaine. i am certain gwaine figured it out at the crystal cave, and i think it was a beautiful scene all around. merlin could've made up a lie and he didn't. gwaine could've asked for me and he didn't. it was understanding and it was trust in such a simple yet effective way. and then gwen - she was always one step ahead in my mind. her reactions, as well as her questions, were a joy to watch. it put me at ease and something about it simply felt calm and right. both of these reveals were given in roundabout ways, each with their own impact and meaning, and i really did appreciate it.

[greenerteacups]

ravenclaw harry is probably the house I find hardest to reconcile with the rest of the canon story. would love to hear your thoughts bc I totally agree that he would have made himself fit into any house as a first year. slytherin harry has a lot of fanon exploration which has had interesting results for sure! hufflepuff harry resonates with the sense of belonging and warmth he was likely yearning for….same actions seem likely to me still. but ravenclaw harry and the friends he’d make (or not make! outcast ish harry being friends with luna and the other alternative-esque ravenclaws?) not sure how that would go! intriguing for sure

housing 11 year olds based on personality is strange business (and all the main characters being in one house is just eh) which is why I love works like lionheart switching that up!

First and foremost, if you want an excellent Ravenclaw!Harry, may I recommend this fic by one of my favorite HPfic authors of all time? It's not quite a Sorting AU, but it's still immaculate, and it's my favorite R!Harry of all time.

I think Houses are first and foremost tools of community and socialization — they're a way to get a bunch of terrified eleven year-olds to make friends, and to break down the immense project of getting to know [INSERT MYTHICAL HOGWARTS DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTIC] people in your cohort at once. The point of doing a Sorting on the basis of personality is to find the place that's going to suit you best; for Slytherins, that's the place that represents their community, their heritage, and their own (fucked up) social set. For Hufflepuffs, that's a really friendly place that focuses on personal development. Gryffindors are adventurers, trailblazers, and explorers; Ravenclaws are inquisitive and interested in deep thinking. To that extent, I can understand why you'd set all of your characters in one house early on, but as the story goes on, it becomes apparent how much the failure to socialize between Houses hurts inter-House relations. It creates much stronger "types" than you might if you just let everyone socialize together.

When Harry is Sorted, we don't know a lot about the dude. We know he's pretty resilient, amicable, and overall nice to people (is immediately on-board and makes friends with Giant Dude Who's Basically Kidnapping You, even though in fairness, he's getting rescued from an abusive home, so — not surprising!) but for the most part, it just gives Normal Guy. It takes a while for Harry's specific brand of introverted weirdness to manifest in the story, and even then, because we're in his POV, we don't see how incredibly awkward he actually is — rereading his dates with Cho is a gauntlet of cringing. He locks on to the people close to him and integrates himself with their group, then basically maintains trajectory until something forces him to stop. He's a really passive dude; 9/10 of the series his him going "what fucking NOW" and running off to put out whatever fire is happening that he's inexplicably implicated in. (He's still heroic, ftr; he does make the choice to risk his life for people, and he does the right thing. But you get the feeling that he would be much happier if he could take a break once in a while and let some other Chosen One take on the serious stuff.)

Apart from the one rec'd above, I can't think of many Ravenclaw!Harry fics that actually take the Sorting as a character challenge. Ravenclaw gets flattened to "the smart House that does great in school" in a lot of fanon — which is kind of strange because the two nerdiest characters, Hermione Granger and Ernie Macmillan, are a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff, respectively. The few Ravenclaws we do get to know, Cho and Luna, are much more defined by their passion for their chosen hobbies than by any scholarly aptitude. Of the few Ravenclaw Sorting AUs out there, a lot of them end up being those Redditor-beloved "Harry Potter but the characters make decisions I think are smarter and then reward them by artificially making those solutions 100% effective" fix-its. A.K.A. fics where the real point is for the author to flex about how smart they are for "getting" the "science" behind a magical storybook world. (No, I don't have strong feelings about these at all, why do you ask?)

[spectator-moon]

My thoughts on Martyn Secret life lore stream (Eyes and Ears AU)

first, Martyn why would you hurt me with that imagery? Poor scar ;-;

-I really like the idea of the logo being the pincer on the Watchers. Grian is a force of nature and should be represented as such

-I am of the personal belief that Jimmy did not break free from the canary curse, since he died right before Wither/Warden boss fight and the entire point of Canarys is to warn of danger

-slightly irralevently but I need to draw the Scar

-BOY do I love the idea of Gem being used as the Watchers new tool because of the Zombie outbreak (send Gem all the love for that skill!!!)

-love Gem being taken by Watchers in general, especially adding in her lore that in Empires she thought everybody was just roleplaying, so she came in thinking it was roleplay and got stuck.

-i also like the idea of Jimmy getting struck down because of the Watchers being confused by his "funeral" and once Lizzy dies, then going "wait no he's supposed to be dead hold on-" and striking him down immediately

-i need more ideas for art. Also references. Please more references proportions are awful

-"if given the right tools, how many seeds of chaos can {Gem} sow, and it turns out, she's a bloody good farmer." Good quote. Make art for quote

-negative emotions being ~spicy~

-martyn being the seperate party in the gang of winners

-the watchers pushed Jimmy off a ledge

-players still having that sense of connections and support (i.e. swapping out) despite being in murder games (also I love the idea that when the Listeners swap out players, the players get a choice, so it's all the much more heartbreaking)

-(personal headcanon that Ren was desperately hoping Martyn would recognize him in Tango's body)

-(personal headcanon that all players start new life series incredibly sore from being tensed as they fall, even though they're unconscious)

-(other personal headcanon that fragmented players i.e. life series players are the only ones who can see the fragments on other servers)

-Speakers maybe being part of a group which works as mercenarys (being paid in whatever currency they use to give players the task of helping each other) (speakers being true neutral)

-y'all imagine the cinematic beauty of the climax I want full animaticssss

-Grian couldn't cash in on success because he either isn't fully in, or because the Watchers are being petty

-the two watchers being the actually evil equivalent of Jesse and James from pokemon

-Grian has emotions about previous series absolutely stunning idea

-like the idea that Winners get to keep their emotions (hence Pearl and Tilly, Grian w/ Scar, etc)

-Fragement lore fragment lore fragment lore

-THE PLAYERS ALL HAVE FRAGMENTS AND I NEED TO CHECK THE POST WHERE EVERYONE PUT THEIR IDEAS FOR PLACES

-Martyn is furry (fragment dog collar) (very not serious)

-fragments appear as important moments from lore? (Can Scar just have a big ol' one where he got punched in the face by Grian from third life?) (I know they don't appear because final death but it was a generator of so much angst)

-autocorrect my beloathed. (Grian ≠ Groan)

-sometimes fragments become scars, and everybody gets confused because "this moment wasn't important I have no emotional attachment to this moment why is there a scar?"

-PLAYERS CANNOT REMEMBER THE EMOTION GOBBLING AND ARE JUST GENERALLY CONFUSED WHEN THEY HAVE AN EMOTIONAL REACTION TO SOMETHING SOMEBODY SAYS

-headcanon that the Watchers do a real shoddy job at emotion gobbling and often leave the memory, which can prompt an emotional reaction. Also, Watchers actively ignore certain negative moments in favour of those spawning more negative emotions (like a cobblestone generator but for negative emotions)

-datastream Martyn??? Please explain I have not the time to watch all the vods

-eeeee winner theory!!!!!

-we love Villain scar

-PEOPLE CAN SHATTER IF THEYRE TOO FRAGMENTED OH MY GODS PLEASE FANART AND FICS

-so wait if they get to watch how it ends does that mean they had to sit and watch Scar go insane???? That makes that sadder

-so without any knowledge of Datastream Martyn, can I suggest that mayhaps datastream means that literally Martyn leaps between worlds by moving through the literal data stream? I have seen references to a Doc, so maybe he and Martyn were experimenting and Martyn got stuck? I know something happened to Doc, probably bad given that the reference was 'yes the red stuff was definitely ketchup', so was it because of the knowledge he has gained? Again, never seen any data stream so take all of this with a grain of salt. I just like analysing stories and have read enough to be able to pick out plotlines fairly well.

-oooh lore comic i want to read that

-Secret Keeper is Watchers putting on a trench coat and going "yes yes no watchers here yes yes"

-imagine how invasive it would be to spawn in and just KNOW the rules, with no background for why or how you have that information. Boy that could be a cesspit for angst. Imagine the panic of that inserted information. (Grian has to calm somebody down fic???)

-new lore enjoyer, but I love this already.

-making a proper movie with this concept would be AMAZING

-players were kidnapped lmao

-Scott having that forewarning for Jimmy and Scar is a funny thought

-Listeners are oldest children fighting their middle siblings (Watchers) because Mom and Dad will blame them for the poor player hurt

Making a part two because this is so long already

[hoyotournament]

Semifinals: Nahida vs Kiana Kaslana

(Propaganda under the cut)

Kiana:

TLDR: she's kiana kaslana what do you MEAN!!!! kiana is a beautifully written character who fully encapsulates what hi3 is about and she's so full of love and guilt and (most importantly) hope. she's a clone who struggles with her own identity/inhumanity and traumas extending from when she was a young child and her guilt but is so so resilient and so so so so compassionate which ultimately reinforces her humanity :)

kiana's character IS the honkai impact thesis statement. i don't even mean it as in she's the literal main character and face of honkai i genuinely mean it when i say she just IS honkai impact. she reflects every single theme that they portray [hope over nihilism (chapter 25 || the flame chasers and just. the previous era in general), having agency over your identity and your own story (himeko, her being k423 and being so linked to sirin, everlasting flames || the kaslana household name honestly, bronya, fu hua, mei, sirin), believing in the humanity's inherent worth (chapter 25, arc city || elysia <- important since as a current era herrscher, she is a successor to elysia AND as kiana kaslana, she is a narrative parallel of elysia), having faith in the youth (himeko, kevin || the other flame chasers! notably su), etc.] her character being so reflective is also sooooo OUGH to think about when you view it as a reflection of honkai's 50,000 year samsara because kiana is a representation of these themes coming full circle (especially since many of these stretch back to the previous era and elysia).

SHE FEELS SO MUCH. she's so full of love and guilt. she clearly prioritizes others over herself and part of her arc is her learning to value and love herself as well!!! she would give herself for the world ten times over because she holds so much affection for humanity!! (WHILE FEELING DEHUMANIZED BECAUSE OF HER IDENTITY AS BOTH A HERRSCHER AND K423) and it's actively apart of her character's growth :'')

dear god her growth… okok. so i think first you have to understand that a lot of kiana's growth obviously coincides w general maturity as she grows from a teenager to a young adult. but aside from that i think people often forget that younger kiana is incredibly self sufficient since her father literally left her with little to no explanation when she was like. what 8? the insecurity she feels at that! the anger she has to navigate while also balancing it with her own feelings of missing and loving him. basically: kiana has struggled a lot w instability and is thus kinda good at navigating it. ex: she isnt shaken by nagazora and literally tries again and again and again to save mei and convince mei to let her help. the thing is this fucks w her a bit though because a big thing that she does as a means to cope w instability is avoiding them (not reflective of real life of course, but in the fictional hi3 this is partially represented in kiana's repressed memories about her actual origins as k423). she can not stand the realization that she killed himeko that she's so deep in denial and doesnt truly realize it until more than 10 chapters after himeko dies! she's so horrified with her being a herrscher she actively tries to not use her powers out of fear, even when it puts her in harms way (the chapter XI-EX CG!!!!!! her literally trying to kill herself!!) she literally runs away from her friends and loved ones because she's so scared of hurting them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! which is why her promise to himeko to not run away is so important!! because it addresses one of kiana's biggest flaws!!!!! this is especially important bc her refusal to continue her avoidance feeds into her arc during the herrscher of dominion chapters where she both faces her own guilt/identity and deliberately chooses perseverance and hope over nihilism!! she is hope!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!